Pours a mostly clear brownish copper into Spiegelau IPA glass. Well-retaining, light tan head. Smell is inordinately sweet. Plums, raisins, caramel, barely bready. Maybe a little alcohol/esters, no hops. Not bad, but leads me to think it will taste a little too off. Luckily, that is not the case. More so bready on the palate, but caramel and dark fruit as expected. Just the slightest vegetal, almost peppery retro-olfactory hop burst as it nears back of tongue. Finish itself is surprisingly crisp, given its age. Medium-bodied. Medium level of carbonation, even though I was expecting either effervescence or flatness right off the pour. Still, it does eventually get quite flat and watery.

Not quite sure why there are no reviews more recent than 2011. I picked this up in a mixed 12-pack last year. Yes, that makes it "old," but not that old!

This beer pours a hazy, sedimental (I saw Rammstein last night, so I'm making up my own convenient compound words!) dark orangish brown colour, with one finger of foamy, thin white head, which leaves little in the way of lace. It smells of creamed grain, bland orchard fruit, and mild leafy hops. The taste is muted caramel malt, kind of metallic at that, and earthy, leafy hops. The carbonation is quite sedate, the body medium weight, and smooth against a small zippy twinge. It finishes with an upswing in the sweetness - the malt adding some mild chocolate and leather, amongst some wet leaf hoppiness.

A so-so amber ale - the weird edginess in the flavour just doesn't make me want another.

Fall is a quick beer season. Most breweries have their summer seasonal still on the shelf and are working on their winter brew. Plus, if your fall seasonal is not an Oktoberfest it represents something of an uphill battle.

Deep brownish amber-bordering-on-mahogany color with perfect clarity. The head holds long and tight, with a few sticky rings of lace on the glass to boot. Aroma doesn't pop out, though some spicy citric hops, fruity esters, toasted malt and a vague diacetyl muddle the nose. Chewy, medium body with a long smoothness and deep crispness. Malt is present with toasted flavors throughout, but it gets whacked a few times by a minty citric hop bitterness and flavor, as well as some lively esters and a thin blanket of diacetyl. Hint of woody hop flavor and minerals in the middle. Finishes a little sweet, with some toasted grain and spice.

Decent, and a tasty fall seasonal, but not as drinkable as we thought it was going to be, though some interesting and complex malt and hops flavors make up for that. With that said, it is certainly worth a try.

A - Pours a hazy golden brown with a reddish hue. Poured almost no head, only a thin amount of head around the edges. Very little carbonation noticeable. The colour is quite nice, but a little more action on the head would've made it that much more appealing.

S - A very odd scent on this one. Almost has a wet paint scent to it (eek!), but a sweet hoppy scent does come through on the nose as well.

T - Was expecting a stronger flavour on this one, but was mildly disappointed. Quite bitter, flavour is a citrus and honey with a bit of a coffee aftertaste. The malts definitely come through on the finish. Alcohol is a bit noticeable, but not overpowering.

M - Rather thick on the tongue, not overly carbonated, and reminiscent of a porter. Would've expected something a bit lighter from an amber ale.

D - Pretty tasty, though nothing overly memorable. By no means is it terrible, a nice amber ale, but I've had better. Definitely worth a try.

Glazed terra cotta with bright Sunkist edges. This is one of the darkest, richest amber ales in recent memory. Up top sits a thick chunk of golden beige colored foam that more than holds its own in the quality department. I'm not used to being impressed by beer of this style (or by beer from this brewery), but this one looks the part.

The nose is almost nonexistent. There's a whiff of steely caramel, a bit of fruit and a hint of hops that I could never have identified as Hallertau Hersbrucker. Here's hoping this broken garden implement isn't so broken on the palate.

By virtue of its relatively high ABV and the words 'full-bodied' on the neck label, it seems that Pyramid sees BRAA as a bigger than average amber ale. Too bad it doesn't drink like one. It's darker than the style average, however, thanks to what tastes like a fair amount of caramel malt.

Flavors include graham crackers covered with apple butter and a drizzle of melted caramel. That actually sounds pretty good, but the beer is little better than average in the end. On the other hand, that puts it near the head of the class as far as this brewery goes.

The Euro hops try to take the edge off the malty sweetness at the end of each mouthful, and just do succeed. Regarding the mouthfeel, it's medium-bodied to start, thins to light-medium on the swallow, and could use more (and more energetic) bubbles.

Like a broken rake, Broken Rake Amber Ale will eventually get the job done if you stick with it. Although it isn't a beer that I'd walk across the street for, it's a decent example of the style and went down easily enough.

This one is a clear mahogany color, as advertised. The head pours pretty well and fades fairly quickly to foam, managing to leave some small patches of very thin lacing.
Caramel malt is up front in the aroma, followed by some banana, mild hops and a gentle spice.
The taste is consistent with the aroma, though there's more of a taste that's almost like mulling spices that is stronger than in the aroma. There's not much bitterness at all, either. The character is very strongly malt, with a very mild floral hops taste more in the finish. Balance is decent.
Body and carbonation are both light. Some may find the body a little thin. It's fairly crisp and starts off clean.
It's certainly worth a try. It does seem like it could go for either fall or winter, and I'd pick something else for a hot afternoon. It's a little more of a warmer.

Pours deep amber colour with thin off-white head. Smell - hops hit nose at first, some caramel, and spices perhaps, but hops are overhelming. Taste - not bad combination of hops and malts, but it seems to be a litle bit off balance. Pretty thin, somewhat sweet, I guess it's not that bad, I would call it too hoppy for an amber ale. Somewhat drinkable. There are a lot of better examples of the style around.

Pours a dark amber/brown with zero head. Smells of stale malt. Taste is extremely malt based, with a wierd tangy/sour flavor in the finish. A slight amount of bitterness from the hops. Good mouthfeel. Drinkability is so-so, I would drink it again, but wouldn't seek it out. There are a lot better choices out there IMO.

It's autumn in January as I get to a beer I've had in my fridge for some time. On to the beer:

Hazy amber color with a tint of orange coloring. the head rose well, but doesn't retain itself well. Sweet in the nose...almost marzen-like....not much else. Taste...well, it's very malty in flavor. It tastes almost like an oktoberfestbieer. Sweet and caramely upfront, bready notes echoe in the aftertaste A bit more carbonation than I would like, but it cancels out some of the sweetness from this beer. Faint hop bitterness. Dark bread towards the end of the sip. the aftertaste leaves some bready note. A solid seasonal offering from Pyramid.

Presentation: Poured from a stubby 12 oz brown bottle into a standard pint glass. Picked this up as a single a few months ago and am just now getting around to sampling it. Label depicts two pyramids with a very Midwestern scene of a few trees and leaf covered ground in the foreground. Best by 12/28/08. I am a few days late, oh well. My first beer of 2009, picked for no specific significance.

Appearance: Pours with maybe half a finger of medium tan head. This settles extremely quickly, leaving absolutely nothing behind. The beer itself is a rich copper hue, very pretty. No sediment in the bottle.

Smell: Caramel sweet malt with hints of cherries and bubblegum in the finish.

Taste: Sweet caramel malt with a fruity and sugary finish. Tastes of cherries and peaches. Mellow finish, with just the slightest hint of hop bitterness and a slight, lingering sweetness.

Mouthfeel: Average carbonation level. Body is good.

Drinkability: All in all, a decent middle of the road beer. Nothing over the top with respect to flavor or complexity, but nothing off putting either. Its one major drawback is a complete lack of head retention.

This one doesn't look particularly interesting; features a clear brown with a reddish tint and almost no head. The nose is basic caramel malt with a little nuttiness but not much complexity.

The texture could use some thickening although it's not like there's a taste explosion for it to carry. A respectable caramel and toasted malt base matches the style and the finish is reasonably smooth. Drinkable and fine but rather boring. Not something to move heaven and earth to find, to say the least.

Coppery amber, very clear body with plenty of visible carbonation. Pour generated a near perfect two finger beige head, but it fell to a half a finger rather quickly. Pretty good lacing.

Smells of malty caramel with a bit of flowery hop to balance it out. Simple but nice.

Also simple in flavours. Toffee flavour throughout is pleasant, and the citrus and floweriness of the hops works too, but there is just a touch of solvent at the back end that keeps this one from being good all around.

This has some body, but still feels very wet, if that makes sense. Carbonation is on the lower side of medium. Could be better here.

Not a bad beer by any stretch, just some minor tweeks could make this a winner. As it stands now, I wouldn't bother getting it again.

An amber ale with a good malt flavor and an unfortunate tinny undertone. The beer pours an alright color for an amber. The head puffs up quickly but dissipates very quickly. The smell is sweet with malt, but a tinny note rears its ugly head. The flavor is similar with an overly sweet maltiness. Hops are present in flavor and taste but rather anemic ultimately, and the sweet malt drowns them out largely for the tongue. The feel is better than it was for Pyramid's Apricot Ale, my only other stab at Pyramid that I wrote notes for. The carbonation is still not quite right, but it's not bad either. It's fairly drinkable and would be even more so if not for the tinniness.

Aroma is lots of light crystal with just a hint of hops. I also get a light fruity fermentation aroma that comes off as cherries and plums.

Light off-white head that fades WAY quick to nothing. There is rising carbonation all over the glass but nothing that adds foam to the glass. Color is spot on and really clear but the total lack of head is a bit off.

Nice malt forward start. I get caramel and a touch of roast malt and a little honey malt maybe. Then there's bittering hop oil to balance it out but not a lot of hop flavor. Some yeasty flavors of biscuits and some fruity esters too.

Medium to full bodied. That carbonation level is pretty good (which makes the lack of head a mystery. I tried a different clean glass and a more violent pour on another bottle and had the same.)

Pretty decent amber ale. Flavor wise it's kind of a session beer but at 6% a little strong for a session.

Post review editing: I think I'm the voice of dissent (again) on this one. Lots of people don't like it but then I don't think they're looking for an amber. This isn't a great beer but it's a lot better than a c-type rating.

Pours a clearish light brown body, very active bubbles on the side of the glass. Lowish whitish head but quickly diminishing. Malty nutty aroma, with some fresh smells like hay. Some fruitiness too, like strawberries or something. Malty taste, that same hay-like smell. Some light berry fruitiness, maybe fig. Average mouthfeel, not too thin, a little fizzy on the tongue. Eh, not my style.